AN HONOR INDEED!
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Opening Prayer
Holy Spirit, speak to me through the Scriptures today. Use the Word, not only to give me greater understanding of God’s love for me, but to inspire me to serve him with deeper purpose and greater zeal.
Read 1 CHRONICLES 17:16–27
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
David’s Prayer
16 Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and he said:
“Who am I, Lord God, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? 17 And as if this were not enough in your sight, my God, you have spoken about the future of the house of your servant. You, Lord God, have looked on me as though I were the most exalted of men.
18 “What more can David say to you for honoring your servant? For you know your servant, 19 Lord. For the sake of your servant and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made known all these great promises.
20 “There is no one like you, Lord, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears. 21 And who is like your people Israel—the one nation on earth whose God went out to redeem a people for himself, and to make a name for yourself, and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out nations from before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt? 22 You made your people Israel your very own forever, and you, Lord, have become their God.
23 “And now, Lord, let the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house be established forever. Do as you promised, 24 so that it will be established and that your name will be great forever. Then people will say, ‘The Lord Almighty, the God over Israel, is Israel’s God!’ And the house of your servant David will be established before you.
25 “You, my God, have revealed to your servant that you will build a house for him. So your servant has found courage to pray to you. 26 You, Lord, are God! You have promised these good things to your servant. 27 Now you have been pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, Lord, have blessed it, and it will be blessed forever.”
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
As you come to read God’s Word, focus on how he knows you inside and out!
Have you, or someone you know, been honored by your monarch, a head of state or equivalent, with a medal or commendation for services rendered? In many cases, such honor comes as a big surprise, even met with incredulity. Nathan had delivered God’s message to David. God was honoring him! Now David responded. We sense astonishment, amazement. John Newton echoed this feeling as he penned the hymn ‘Amazing Grace’1 many years after coming to realize what God had done for him, eventually bringing him out of slave-trading and into Christian ministry. We often sing those words, but do we truly sense the amazement that God has ‘saved a wretch like me’? Do we echo David’s astonishment? Or has the story become so familiar that we barely give it a thought? Furthermore, David was aware that God knew what he was truly like (v. 18), which made his astonishment even greater. And ‘yes, please!’ was his answer (v. 23).
This passage, however, is not just about the king. David brings in the whole of God’s people and what had been done for them too (vv. 21, 22). In a similar way, God’s saving work in us as individuals is inextricably linked with what he is doing in and through his church all over the world. That’s huge! Do you have any inkling about how God might be using you to further his purposes? When you think about it, that is a tremendous honor!
Interspersed with David’s words of amazement are hints of worship: ‘There is no one like you’ (v. 20); ‘your name will be great forever’ (v. 24). When we think how well God knows us and when we realize just how much he has done for us—despite who we are—does this lead only to astonishment, or also to worship?
Apply
If you know Newton’s hymn, sing it with renewed consciousness and thanksgiving.
Closing prayer
Lord God, thank you for my redemption; give me greater vision for the ways in which you purpose to work through me for the sake of your kingdom.
1 ‘Amazing grace! (how sweet the sound)’, John Newton 1779
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